


Little Things, Big Problems

by LilySpears



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Baby!Gladio, Baby!Noctis, Family Feels, Humor, Mom!Ignis, Random plot, baby!Prompto, poor ignis
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-02
Updated: 2018-01-22
Packaged: 2019-02-26 14:38:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,010
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13237827
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LilySpears/pseuds/LilySpears
Summary: There's an unspoken agreement that Ignis is the Team Mom of the group. Of course, none of them expected that to end up being so literal...





	1. Unexpected

**Little Things, Big Problems**

Chapter 1:

In hindsight, the four of them really should have seen it coming. The cavern itself, with its hidden crevices and less than inviting dark atmosphere should have been an obvious warning. The fact that every other dungeon, tomb or similar cavern had thrown vicious beasts at them should have prepared them. As it was, none of them had expected the giant snake that had come crashing up from the floor. They especially hadn't expected it to seize Prompto and crash away down a nearby crevice just as quick as it appeared. Noctis had nearly thrown himself after it, only stopped by Gladio seizing a fistful of his jacket and pulling him back. Ignis pushed up his glasses, watching as Gladio dragged Noctis away from the edge. The prince put up quite a fight, obviously fearing for his friend,

“Prompto!! Hey, we’ve gotta get Prompto” Noctis pulled against Gladio’s grip, though the bigger man did not budge “Let go already!!”

“While I agree we must find Prompto” Ignis looked at Noctis “Throwing yourself into a crevice is only going to get you killed”

Noctis scowled and grunted in frustration, though he did stop his struggling. Gladio let go of Noctis' shirt and folded his arms,

“So what’s your plan Iggy?” he asked

“We carrying on along the path, in theory this path and the tunnels surrounding us should be all connected” Ignis looked around thoughtfully “Prompto is not completely defenceless, I’m sure he’s more than capable of keeping himself alive until we get to him”

Noctis gave another frustrated grunt and took off, sprinting down the path they had been following. Gladio ran afterwards and easily matched Noctis' pace, his light flickering against the walls. Ignis jogged up at the rear, his senses on high alert in case any other surprises wanted to attack them.

The path opened up into a large, damp cavern. Pillars of rock stretched from the floor to the darkness of the roof. Water droplets fell rhythmically into icy puddles, creating an eerie sound. Gunshots rang out loudly; they found Prompto hiding by one of the rock pillars, panting hard as he finished off a swarm of Imps. Noctis ran over, skidding on the wet ground as he dropped to his knees,

“Prompto!” He grabbed his friend tightly

“That was not funny, idiot”

“Heh, sorry dude” Prompto grinned nervously, rubbing his hair with one hand. Noctis pushed him lightly before grabbing his hand and heaving him to his feet. Ignis pulled a potion from their supplies and threw it at Prompto, even though the blond had only sustained a scattering of scrapes and bruises for his troubles. Nevertheless, Prompto caught the potion and broke it gratefully. Gladio shifted around behind the others, his eyes at the roof,

“Hate to break up the reunion but we should-“ 

The roof rumbled loudly, cutting him off. Fragments of rock crumbled to the floor, a loud shriek echoed in the distance. Ignis gave Gladio a very intense look,

“May I suggest not finishing that sentence, Gladio?” he asked, his tone calm yet it left no room to argue. Gladio merely nodded, his eyes still staring at the roof. Noctis and Prompto moved closer to him, Prompto actually ducked behind the bigger man as though he was a literal shield. Ignis drew his daggers and stood once again at the rear,

“Stay alert gentlemen” he said “And prepare yourselves to run”

The group poised themselves ready. Another rumble, louder than the first. The roof suddenly exploded, the snake's heavy tail crashing down on top of them. Gladio seized Noctis and leapt to the side, rolling as he landed,

“Start running!” he yelled, scrambling to his feet and dragging Noctis down the closest tunnel. Noctis struggled out of his shield's grip as he ran along side him,

“Gladio, I can run by myself, damm it” he glared, suddenly his expression turned to shock “Gladio, your arm!”

Gladio glanced down briefly. He had a long gash down his left arm, caused by the snake's tail as it had slammed down on them,

“A scratch, I’ll sort it later” Gladio grunted “Just keep running”

They rounded a corner. An inhumane, high pitched scream ground them to halt and forced them to the floor with covered ears. The ground began to shake violently, the snake bursting up in front of them with a shower of rock. It hissed loudly, it’s grotesquely shaped human head glaring at them,

“It's a Naga!” Ignis shouted as he and Prompto ran up behind the other two. The Naga hissed again and screamed,

“My baby!!” It demanded “Where is my baby??”

“What baby??” Prompto started to back away, one hand gripping his pistol tightly “We know nothing about a baby, lady”

“My baby!” The Naga let out a loud anguished scream, forcing the group back to the floor “You took my baby!! Give it back!”

It lunged forward, surprisingly agile for its size. The group scattered and jumped to their feet, readying weapons,

“I believe we have no other options” Ignis crouched, ready to strike “We must put this creature out of its misery”

“Way ahead of you Iggy!!” Gladio roared, already running at the Naga. He leapt up and slammed his broadsword into the creature's coils, driving it deep. The Naga screamed in pain and shook him off violently. Enraged, it drew itself to full height,

“If you cannot return my baby” it hissed “Then you will be my baby instead!!”

It lunged straight for the nearest person, venom dripping from its fangs,

“Noct!!”.

* * *

 

Thankfully, Noctis’ journey did not end at the jaws of the Naga. After an intense battle, the group had finished the creature off. They hadn't escaped completely unscathed. As well as Gladio's gash and Prompto’s bruises and scrapes from his unplanned ride, Noctis had received an unfortunate dousing of venom. Ignis had done his best to rid him of it, however, despite the cleaning and the antidote it still seemed to linger,

“I can still taste it!” Noctis moaned, pulling faces as he walked “Man, it’s so gross!”

He spat loudly on the ground, sticking his tongue out afterwards. Ignis glared at Noctis in obvious disapproval, 

“If you could refrain from spitting everywhere I would much appreciate it, I know I taught you better than that” he said, curtly “And as I have told you repeatedly, I cannot do anything about the taste until we exit this cave and make camp”

Noctis pulled a very childish face at Ignis but didn’t reply. He hoped they’d find the entrance of the cave soon. They had found Ramuh's rune stone, that had been the easiest part of the whole quest to their surprise,

“Man, I am so beat” Prompto yawned, stretching his arms up “I just wanna curl up in my sleeping bag and sleep forever right now”

“Yeah, sounds pretty good” Noctis found himself yawning too. Even Gladio joined in, his loud animal like yawn echoing off the rocks. Ignis sighed, pushing his glasses up,

“You three are hopeless sometimes” he said, quite clearly the most awake of the group “None of you are permitted to go to bed until you’ve eaten, I won’t allow you to sleep on an empty stomach”

“Yes mom” Prompto muttered, sniggering and elbowing Noctis. Ignis rolled his eyes in exasperation, it was not the first time they called him ‘mom’ and he knew quite well it would not be the last. Noctis and Prompto continued laughing to themselves even as they finally left the cave and stepped out into the warm glow of the setting sun,

“Finally reached the surface” Gladio muttered, flexing his arms and trying to fight back another yawn “Bout damm time”

“There is a Haven a short distance away” said Ignis “We should make haste to camp, I’ve come up with a new recipe I’d like to try tonight”

The other three almost immediately grimaced, Ignis almost stopped dead in his tracks at the sight. Prompto scratched his hair sheepishly,

“Sorry Iggy, I’m not really feeling like dinner tonight, you know?”

“Yeah, I actually don’t think I’m hungry right now” Noctis looked at Ignis apologetically

“Mmm, I'd rather just hit the sack” said Gladio, unable to fight back his yawn any longer. Ignis very nearly tripped over at that. Thankfully, being the man he was he was able to maintain composure and keep his face off the floor despite the shock to his nerves. He still felt rather concerned even as his expression remained calm. Never had all three refused dinner. Occasionally Noctis refused food when he was in one of his low moods, and Prompto had been known to wear himself out so much he forgot to eat. But Gladio refusing food? Ignis didn’t know what to make of it. He thought for a few moments before speaking again,

“There are birdbeast eggs left from breakfast, I could make some simple omelettes?” he suggested “Something plain and easy to eat?”

They had reached the Haven by this point. Noctis had unfolded one of the chairs and flopped into it, watching Gladio erect the tent through sleepy eyes. Prompto didn’t even bother with a chair, choosing to sprawl out on the rock. Ignis prepared his stove, watching the others with growing concern. Several curse words came from Gladio's direction, in his fatigued state he had accidentally hit his thumb with his mallet. Ignis shook his head, taking out the eggs and cracking them for his omelettes. He’d not received a reply regarding his choice for dinner, but his determination to make them eat made him carry on regardless. Gladio finished the tent with more curse words and several bruised fingers. He turned next to the fire. Ignis found himself praying to the Six that Gladio wouldn’t set himself on fire. Luckily, the bigger man managed to light it with little issue. Prompto immediately wiggled closer once he felt the warmth, curling up rather like a kitten on a rug. Ignis shook his head at him as he turned off his stove. The omelettes were a lot easier to cook than his usual recipes, so they were ready in next to no time,

“Dinner time, boys” he picked up the plates “Come on, the sooner you eat up the sooner you can go to bed”

He handed out the dishes, ignoring the displeased noises he got in return. Noctis moved his plate as soon as it was placed in his lap, putting it on the floor instead. Ignis picked it up again with a sigh,

“Noctis, you know I am not above feeding you” he said. Noctis groaned and reluctantly took the plate,

“Alright already, I’ll eat it, geez” he glared at his food and starting stabbing at it with his fork, nibbling a tiny bit every now and then to appease his advisor. Ignis picked up his own omelette (although he felt rather hungry he had felt it unnecessary to cook a whole separate dish just for himself) and sat in his chair, grabbing a can of Ebony on his way past the cool box. He watched his comrades as he popped the can’s tab. Noctis was still stabbing his food, while Prompto looked as though he was about to fall asleep in his. Even Gladio looked unusually sulky as he stirred his food around his plate,

“Good grief, they’re all acting like little children” Ignis thought to himself. With a defeated sigh he lowered his can of Ebony, looking at them all,

“Leave the food if you’re really objecting to eating it” he gave a little shooting motion with one hand “Off to bed with you all, hopefully you will wake up tomorrow in more agreeable moods”

They did not need to be told twice. Noctis dropped his plate with an audible clang, sliding off his chair and practically rolling into the tent. Prompto crawled in after, Gladio following him

“For the love of-take off your-” Ignis stopped and sighed heavily. As much as he wanted to rant about filthy shoes in the tent, he knew it would do no good. He simply returned to his food, picking up his Ebony as he looked at the sunset,

“I suppose I can finally enjoy some peace and quiet for a change”.

* * *

 

Ignis woke the next morning before his alarm. This was not unusual, as the alarm was more for Noctis' benefit than his (not that it had the intended effect of course). Ignis gave a little yawn and very slowly sat up, not wanting to disturb the others he knew were still asleep. It was still dark outside, though the birds had started their dawn chorus. Ignis yawned again and began to feel for his glasses. Something rustled besides him. Ignis tensed, instantly awake. Another rustle, followed by scratching. Ignis frowned. Had a wild animal or beast managed to get inside the tent? Ignis shook his head. Surely he would have noticed that. The thing rustled again, Ignis was sure he had heard a whimper. Slowly, carefully, he reached up towards the lantern hanging at the top of the tent. He turned it on, expecting a beast. Instead he found a very scared looking little boy clutching an armful of blanket and sleeping bag. Ignis stared at the boy, lost for words. The boy began to cry, clutching his blanket tighter,

“I-Iggy!!” he sobbed, shaking all over “Iggy, don’t be mad at me!”

Ignis continued to stare at the boy, by now very confused. How on earth did this boy know who he was?

“I’m sorry but, do I know you?” he asked. The boy looked horrified at this and sobbed harder,

“I'm Gladio!!” he cried. Ignis felt his heart skip a beat. Gladio?! But this boy looked no older than five! Ignis swallowed hard and looked closer at the boy. The scruffy dark brown hair and amber eyes looked disturbingly familiar even through the tears and snotty nose,

“By the Six, you are Gladio....” Ignis muttered. Gladio sniffled and nodded, holding out his arms for a cuddle. Ignis took him gingerly, realizing for the first time the poor boy had no clothes,

“Come on now Gladio, big boys don’t cry like this” he patted him softly them frowned “Hold on, you said before not to be mad at you”

Gladio looked away guilty. Ignis followed the boy's gaze, seeing the bundled up sleeping bag and blanket. He soon spotted the large wet spots on both. Gladio wiggled in Ignis’ lap,  
“I...I had a scary dream...” He whispered “I didn’t mean...”

“Its quite alright, accidents happen” Ignis patted Gladio’s head “We can sort it before the others-“

Ignis felt his stomach drop to the floor. If Gladio was now a child, what of the other two? Slowly he turned to the remaining sleeping bags. He had to check them. He had to see what was underneath. With increasing dread, Ignis reached for the blankets. The furthest one began to squirm, letting out what sounded like a baby’s cry. The remaining sleeping bag flinched, opening to reveal a very sleepy black haired toddler,

“Ewww!” he whined “Iggy, Pwompto made a stinky!”

It took Ignis less time to identify Noctis, the advisor’s face grew pale as be stared at his now three year old charge. Noctis grumbled sleepily as he tugged at Prompto's sleeping bag. Ignis felt his mind break cleanly up the middle. In the sleeping bag, covered in mess and crying very loudly, was baby Prompto. Though the infant looked less than a year old, the sweep of blond curls was unmistakable.

Ignis found he had only one response.

“Bloody hell”.


	2. Mr Mom

**Little Things, Big Problems**

**Chapter 2:**

Ignis was not a man who could be easily flustered or shaken. His ‘stiff upper lip’ mentality had served him well these many years; his stoicism was like his favourite pair of shoes. A little older than he’d care to admit, but still familiar and comfortable. And yet, somehow, Ignis found himself at a loss. He was frozen in place, silent save for the two words he had uttered upon seeing Prompto now little more than an infant. Said blond infant was still crying, the volume getting louder the more he was ignored. Noctis was fully awake, though he was clearly not happy about it. The grumpy three year old was rubbing his eyes with one tiny hand and impatiently tugging at Ignis with the other, clearly expecting him to stop Prompto crying immediately. Gladio had fled into the corner of the tent as soon as he’d seen Noctis, he'd scooped up his wet bedding along the way and had bundled it up to hide it again. Ignis looked around with an almost dumb expression on his face (he’d later thank the six the other three were not of stable enough mind to remember that detail). He knew he needed to do something, but his brain wasn't coming up with an answer. It was a very odd feeling for Ignis, to not know what to do. Prompto gave a sudden hiccup and began coughing between wails. Ignis reacted to the distressed noise almost without thinking, scooping the infant up and out of his sleeping bag,

“See now Prompto, you’re hurting yourself” Ignis attempted to rock him whilst still keeping him away from the vest he had been sleeping in “No more tears”

Prompto gave another little hiccup and blinked up at Ignis with teary blue eyes. Noctis huffed quietly besides them and began to wriggle back into his sleeping bag,

“Good, night night Iggy” he mumbled, yawning as he clearly intended to go back to sleep. Ignis rolled his eyes and pulled the sleeping bag down again,

“I think not, your highness” he said, ignoring the scowl he received from the young prince “Right now the only thing we're all doing is taking a much needed bath”

“Why do I need a bath?” Noctis whined, scowling harder as he tried to grab his sleeping bag back “I didn’t wet my sheets like a baby”

“I’m not a baby!” Gladio shouted from his corner, his cheeks burning scarlet

“Only babies wet the bed” Noctis shot back, sticking his tongue out “Little baby Gladdy”

“That will be quite enough of that, boys” Ignis gave both of them a stern look “Behave yourselves”

Both boys fell silent and started to sulk. Ignis sighed and began untangling himself from his own sleeping bag, a tricky task whilst holding an infant. Prompto, who was a lot happier now he was being held, giggled loudly at Ignis. He babbled and waved one pudgy fist, apparently enjoying the ride. Ignis finally freed himself from his sleeping bag and moved it neatly to the side. Prompto squealed and clapped his hands, Ignis chuckled,

“Thank you, Prompto” he headed to the tent flaps leading out “Come on boys, no dawdling”

  
He disappeared out of the tent. Neither one of the boys moved; after a few moments Noctis slowly began to creep back into the pile of sleeping bags and blankets. Ignis’ head reappeared quite suddenly through the tent flap,

“Sometime today please” he said, both boys jumping at his voice. Noctis reluctantly left his blanket nest and crawled outside. Gladio climbed out last, dragging one of his blankets with him. Ignis was no longer paying attention to them. He was stood on the cool rock in vest and sleep pants, idly bouncing Prompto as he pondered the new problem he had encountered.

  
How exactly was he supposed to bathe two young boys and a baby on a rock in the middle of the wilderness?

  
Ignis gave a little annoyed grunt, his brow creased as he frowned. Clearly he had not this through at all. Ignis felt very disappointed in himself. He always had a plan, but on this occasion he had let himself, and his comrades, down. On the other hand, Ignis considered that all three of said comrades turning into children overnight was not something he could ever have predicted nor planned for. With a resigned sigh, Ignis brought his thoughts back to the matter at hand. How to get the boys clean. The seemingly obvious choice would of course be the river. Whilst a little cold, especially this time of morning, he could quite easily bathe all three boys and wash the bedding at the same time. The only downside to this plan, they would have to hike there. This is where Ignis discovered yet another problem. The boys clothes. Or, more accurately, the lack of such. Their regular clothes certainly would not fit anymore. Until Ignis could find replacements he could not entertain the thought of leaving the campsite. A fully grown man hiking around the wilderness with three very small, very naked boys would look very bad indeed. A fully grown man driving around with three naked boys in a car would probably look even worse. Ignis swallowed audibly. He would do many things for Noctis, as both his advisor and his close friend, but jail time for indecency was crossing the line. Ignis gave a sigh and rearranged Prompto in his arms. The infant babbled happily, blowing little spit bubbles from his mouth. Ignis frowned, wiping them away with the hem of his vest,

“Honestly Prompto, that's not at all dignified” he said. Prompto squealed at him and blew more bubbles, thinking it was a game. Ignis shook his head and tickled the infant under his chin to make him giggle. A sudden cold thought struck him, like a badly timed blizzard spell. Gladio and Noctis. They were being quiet. Too quiet in fact. Ignis quickly spun around to face the tent. He found Gladio's blanket discarded on the floor and nothing else,

“Boys?” Ignis called out, picking up the dropped blanket and looking around “Boys, don’t hide from me!”

There was a sudden gasp and a frightened yelp; something clattered loudly as it was dropped on the rock. Ignis turned towards the noise sharply. Gladio and Noctis were hiding behind the camp stove. Two of the tin cups they used for drinking were laying on the ground in front of the water container. Ignis fixed both boys with a very stern look. Had he not been carrying Prompto he would have folded his arms and tapped his foot impatiently,

“I can see both of you behind my stove quite easily” said Ignis “Come out here at once”  
Gladio and Noctis slowly crept out from their failed hiding place, their eyes staring hard at the ground. Ignis looked from one to the other,

“You two should not be playing around here” he said “These things are not toys, they can hurt you”

“I wanted some water” mumbled Noctis, suddenly very interested in his toes “Gladio said he could get some”

“I was just trying to help” Gladio lifted his head up slowly. He looked at Ignis and puffed out his chest, trying to look tough “I’m the oldest, gotta look out for Noct and the baby”

“That’s very noble and kind of you Gladio” Ignis couldn’t stay angry after that “But next time, perhaps you could ask me first?”

Gladio pouted a little but nodded at Ignis' words all the same. Ignis carefully balanced Prompto in one arm and walked to the water container, using his free hand to pour some water into a cup for Noctis. He paused, staring at the large container. It was fully practically to the brim (Ignis thanked the Six that Gladio the adult had remembered to fill it the day before). Although Ignis didn’t particularly want to use perfectly good drinking water for bathing, at this point in time he had no other choice. Feeling slightly more confident now he had a plan, Ignis turned around from the container to face the two boys. He gave Noctis his cup of water and immediately began searching the bags for towels,

“Right then boys, we've dithered quite enough now” he said “Its high time we all had a bath”.

* * *

The boys were finally clean. Ignis tried to focus on that little victory as he sat wet and defeated in his chair. He felt like he’d just done battle with a beast (part of him thought that would have been preferable). The task had started out well. Prompto had shrieked at the cold water, as Ignis had expected, but despite this he had still been able to clean him relatively quickly and then swaddle him in a makeshift towel nappy. The infant was now happily snuggled up to Ignis, cradled in a sling made from one of the spare blankets. Ignis sighed to himself. At least one of them knew how to behave. By the Six, Ignis did not know how two little boys could cause so much trouble. Once Prompto had been settled, Ignis had prepared to bathe Gladio. That was when he had learnt one very important fact.

Gladio, as it turned out, did not like water in the slightest.

In hindsight, Ignis should have seen it coming. While he had been able to coax Noctis into helping him with Prompto, Gladio had refused point blank to move. The boy had remained rooted to the spot, clutching at his blanket like it was a shield. Ignis had naively thought this meant Gladio would be easy to bathe. How wrong he had been. He’d barely had chance to tell Gadio it was his turn before the boy had made a run for it. Ignis had given chase, not realizing how fast a five year old could be. What followed was a half hour dash around the campsite as he tried to catch Gladio. As if being outrun by a five year was not humiliating enough, Noctis and Prompto had laughed at him the whole time. Unfortunately for Ignis, the farce had not stopped once he had eventually caught Gladio and carried him kicking and screaming to the water bucket. Gladio had kicked it over no less than three times (it was a miracle it still had water once Ignis managed to keep it upright). Even as Ignis had started Gladio's bath, the boy had not gone down without a fight. Elbows, feet, fists, Ignis had felt them all as Gladio had struck out. There was even a nice row of red marks on Ignis' hand where Gladio had tried to bite him. After that Ignis had quickly decided Gladio was clean enough and let him go. The little terror was currently running around the rock with Noctis, playing some make believe adventure game. Ignis had no idea what adventure they were on, only that it seemed to involve a lot of beasts and ‘pew pew’ noises,

“I hope you two are being careful” Ignis called out as he watched the pair dash around, their knotted shirts flapping around their knees “If you keep running around you’re going to trip and hurt yourselves”

“But Iggy!” Gladio turned and pouted “We're trying to outrun the scary monsters!”

“Oh, then my apologies” Ignis chuckled a little “I suppose it would be unfortunate if you got eaten up”

Gladio ran off again, making more ‘pew pew’ noises. Noctis toddled after him, even though he was obviously getting tired. Ignis sighed and leant back in his chair, feeling the sun warming his face. A whimper came from the blanket sling around his torso. Prompto squirmed around and whimpered again, growing fussy. Ignis scooped him up gently,

“What’s wrong Prompto?” he rocked the infant, hoping it would soothe him. Prompto whimpered louder, his eyes filling with tears. He grabbed a tiny fistful of Ignis’ shirt and turned his head, mouthing at the fabric in an attempt to suckle. Ignis felt his cheeks heat up. Now he understood. He carefully moved Prompto away from his shirt and wiped his eyes with his thumb,

“I understand now, you must be getting hungry” he said softly “I unfortunately do not have any milk, but I think I know where to get some”

Ignis wrapped Prompto back in his blanket sling and stood up from the chair. Prompto grabbed the edge of the blanket and began sucking on it, his eyes still full of tears. Ignis crossed the campsite to the stove, carefully kneeling to check the coolers they used for food. He sorted through packages of meat and bundles of vegetables, trying not to disturb them too much. Eventually he found what he had been looking for. A small bottle of creamy sheep's milk. Prompto reached for it as soon as he saw it, wriggling and babbling loudly. Ignis chuckled, placing the milk next to the stove so he could search for a saucepan,

“Calm down little one, you can’t drink it cold” he said, pausing his search to tickle Prompto’s tummy “You'll upset your little stomach”

Prompto squealed happily as he was tickled, though he kept his eyes fixed on the milk bottle. Ignis took out a small saucepan and poured the milk into it, setting it on the stove to warm. He wasn’t sure if sheep's milk was actually suitable for a baby, but right now he had rather limited options. Prompto didn’t seem to mind in the slightest; the infant was happily babbling at the saucepan and drooling,

“Goodness Prompto, you haven’t even started eating and you're already making a mess” Ignis picked up a corner of blanket and began mopping the baby’s mouth. Soft footsteps patterned up besides him quietly; something began to tug at his trousers. Ignis looked down. Noctis was stood against his leg, sleepily sucking his thumb and clinging tightly to the older man. Ignis smiled at him,

“Do you grow weary of battle, Noct?” he asked softly. Noctis nodded slowly, nuzzling into Ignis. Ignis laughed a little, raising his head to look for Gladio. The other boy was by the tent, enthusiastically swiping at the air in some imaginary duel. He hadn't seemed to notice Noctis had left him, too busy shouting and making sound effects. Ignis shook his head. At least he was keeping out of trouble. Noctis gave a long yawn around his thumb, Ignis reached down to ruffle the boy's hair,

“Would you like to assist me in giving Prompto his milk?” he asked. Noctis eyes lit up a little at this. He pulled his thumb from his mouth and nodded,

“Yeah! I want to help!” he said eagerly, tugging at Ignis trousers a little too hard and almost pulling them off. Ignis quickly grabbed at his waistband, wanting to preserve his modesty,

“You may help, though if it’s alright with you I'd rather keep these on” he pulled his trousers back into place. Noctis giggled loudly, covering his mouth with his hands. Even Prompto gave a little squeal from inside his blankets, excited by the sound of Noctis. Ignis couldn’t help but smile at both of them as he turned the stove off and poured the warm milk into a clean cup. Making sure both Prompto and the now full cup were properly balanced, he returned to his chair. Noctis padded along behind, standing in front of the chair and raising his arms as soon as Ignis had sat down. Ignis carefully balanced the milk on the arm of the chair and shifted Prompto into the crook of his elbow; he reached down and gently lifted Noctis onto his lap. Prompto squealed at the sight of him, waving an arm excitedly. Noctis smiled and waved back at him,

“Hi Pwompto!” he said “You’re a lot better when you’re not all stinky”

“While that may be true, at his age he can’t help the occasional foul smell” said Ignis “Besides Noct, you were the same when you were a baby”

“Nuh uh!” Noctis shook his head furiously “Princes don’t get stinky!”

“I think you’ll find they jolly well do” said Ignis, bouncing his knee and making Noctis giggle. Prompto babbled and clapped his hands, wanting to join in the fun. Ignis very gently manoeuvred the infant into Noctis’ arms and helped him hold him upright,

“There, you hold him up just like that” he reached around and picked up the cup of milk “And I’ll give him the milk”

Ignis softly pressed the cup to Prompto's waiting mouth, tipping it just enough to get the milk to the edge. Prompto lapped it up immediately, smacking his lips in appreciation of the sweet taste. A great deal of the milk dribbled down his chin and onto his chest, some of it even dripped onto Noctis’ arms. Noctis didn’t seem to mind this, his mind too focused on the task Ignis had given him. Prompto continued greedily lapping up the milk, managing half the cup before deciding he was full. He turned his head and pushed the cup away. Ignis took the hint and placed the cup on the ground under his chair. Gently he lifted Prompto from Noctis’ arms, resting the infant on his shoulder and softly patting and rubbing his back. Noctis watched in curiosity, wiping his sticky arms on his shirt,

“Why are you doing that?” he asked,

“I’m trying to encourage Prompto to burp” replied Ignis, still patting the infant's back “If he doesn’t he’ll have a very painful tummy”

Noctis nodded in understanding and reached over, patting Prompto’s back as well to try and help. Prompto squirmed a little and burped, a little excess milk coming up as well. Ignis moved him back into the crook of his elbow and wiped his mouth with the blanket. Prompto yawned widely, now quite content and sleepy with his full tummy. Noctis yawned as well, cuddling into Ignis as he too grew sleepy. Ignis held the two boys close and started to rock them gently,

“H-Hey...”

Ignis looked up sharply, startled by the voice. Gladio was stood by his chair, sniffling with his hands clenched tight by his side. Ignis frowned as he looked at the boy,

“Gladio?” he said “Don’t cry now, tell me what’s wrong”

Gladio didn’t answer. He plodded over to the chair and flopped down, wrapping his arms around Ignis’ leg and cuddling it tight. Ignis understood almost immediately. He carefully moved his hand around Prompto, reaching down to stroke Gladio's hair with his fingertips,

“I see now” he said softly “You felt left out, didn’t you?”

Gladio nodded slowly, sniffling again and rubbing his cheek against the fabric of Ignis’ trousers. Ignis continued to stroke Gladio’s hair, trying to comfort the boy,

“My apologies, Gladio” he said “I did not mean to leave you out”

Gladio didn’t reply, instead sighing in contentment as he rested his head against Ignis’ knee. Ignis glanced at each boy in turn. Prompto was fast asleep in his blanket; Noctis looked like he wasn’t far from drifting off himself. Gladio was still awake, though Ignis noted the boy's eyes were begining to droop. A peculiar feeling began to wash over Ignis as he watched his boy’s, a feeling that was more than just their body heat. Ignis felt himself hold the boys a little closer,

“You three are the biggest challenge I never asked for” he said softly “And somehow, I’m still grateful for you all”

An idea came to him after he had spoken. Against his better judgement, he leaned down and pulled Prompto's camera out from where he had hidden it under the chair (Gladio had found the camera earlier, Ignis had promptly confiscated it). Ignis examined it briefly and found the power button, the little machine sprang to life with a click and a whirr. The tactician held the camera aloft, trying to fit them all in the frame. Ignis did not entirely understand the concept of ‘selfies’ or whatever it was Prompto called them, and his common sense was telling him that producing evidence of this whole child incident was a bad idea. Yet despite this, something was telling him it was a good idea. He could always delete the picture later, after all. Ignis carefully moved his finger to the capture button and smiled,

“Smile, boys”.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And thus, does Ignis' morning with the boy's come to a close. Admittedly the selfie is a bit of an afterthought I tagged on, but the picture becomes important in the next chapter~

**Author's Note:**

> So, this was a random idea I had I decided to try out. Everyone knows Ignis is practically the mother of the group even when he's not trying to be.
> 
> The bit at the beginning takes place during the trial of Ramuh, simply because I wanted to use the battle with the Naga. I think it can inflict toad on you, so I used that as a basis for what happens in this story
> 
> I've probably distorted the age gaps a little at the end, but that's because I didn't want their kiddie ages to be too similar


End file.
